There’s no denying that the pandemic has had an impact on local schools but, during the Jan. 27 School Board meeting, Superintendent Kelly Glass put a rough estimate of the financial hit Fountain Hills campuses are taking: About $275,000.

During the meeting, Glass noted that “COVID and funding is not working out well for us.” The district was notified in recent weeks that its Maintenance and Operations budget would be shrinking by about $75,000 for the next academic year, with funds provided through the Governor’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund being about $200,000 less than anticipated.

The ESSER fund was established to provide about 95 percent of expected funding for Arizona districts based on the number of students attending classes virtually.

“We were told we would get 95 percent of funding for our students that were online,” Glass explained. “They didn’t anticipate the number of students that would be online and there’s not enough funding. We will not get the 95 percent of our funding. We are probably closer to 85 percent.”

For local campuses, Glass said the student installation rate is going to be between 1 and 1.2 percent, which will show through all of FHUSD’s state funding including Maintenance and Operations, District Additional Assistance and any other state-funded dollars the district typically receives.

“We’re also going to see an increase in the dollar amount we have to pay to state retirement,” Glass continued. “Right now, I believe we are at 12.24 and it’s going up to 12.4. It’s a small increase, but it’s pretty significant for us, as we pay half or match for our employees’ contributions.”

All of that combined, FHUSD is currently expected to take a $275,000 cut in next year’s budget.

“We’re going to need to be pretty tight in our budget and staffing over the next couple of years in order to make sure our staff can continue to receive raises and our students get what they need,” Glass said.

Virtual learning

With students attending classes online having an impact on FHUSD’s funding, the conversation turned to whether or not virtual learning is the right path forward as the 2020-21 academic year draws to a close.

Glass estimated that about a third of Fountain Hills High School students attend online classes, with a good majority of students at Fountain Hills Middle School and McDowell Mountain Elementary School attending online. She estimated about 400 of the district’s 1,300 student population attends virtual classes.

Board Member Dana Saar took issue with that, saying that recent reports hold that there is “no evidence in-school [education] is a problem.”

“I think we need to sit down and determine if we’re doing the right thing,” Saar said. He added that, with proper safety procedures, he believes the majority of students can return to campus safely.

Board Member Wendy Barnard said she believes many students and their parents wish to continue online education because, after a year online, they have become more accustomed to that learning environment. In other words, it could be a matter of convenience rather than a matter of health concerns.

Board Member Jill Reed agreed, saying that it may be time for local schools to put out the message that “it’s time to come back to school.”

As this was a discussion item, no action was taken during the meeting.